Statement of Task

An expert committee will provide ongoing and focused advice to the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The committee will be broadly constituted to bring expertise in all the areas addressed by the multi-agency, multi-dimensional USGCRP and will be supported by expertise housed in many units across the National Research Council. The committee will, over time, organize ongoing discussions, take on specific tasks, and issue reports.

In its role as a single entry source of contact to the National Research Council and source of strategic discussion with appropriate experts, the Committee to Advise the US Global Change Research Program will:

1. Provide ongoing, integrated advice to the USGCRP on broad, program-wide issues when requested. This began with a review of the 2011 USGCRP Strategic Plan, will include other tasks such as a review of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and evaluation of USGCRP progress toward its Strategic Plan objectives.
2. Provide a forum for informal interaction between the USGCRP and the relevant scientific communities.
3. Provide a forum for exchange of experience and insights for integrating across science communities and improving linkages between officials of the Program and the science communities.
4. Improve the internal coordination across existing and future NRC entities related to global change (including coordination across NAS, NAE, and IOM).
5. Help identify issues of importance for the global change research community. This implies a proactive role that goes beyond simply responding to requests from the USGCRP.
6. Interact with and help USGCRP with its international activities, such as shaping the future of relevant international global environmental change programs.
7. In addition to producing NRC reports as tasked, the committee may help develop other work requests and ensure that they are conducted by the appropriate NRC units in a collaborative fashion.